BLACK WOMEN IN BUSINESS by Pastoring Today

OCTOBER 2019

HER EXCELLENCY REV. DR. PRINCESS A.K. OCANSEY

WOMEN FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT MOMENT “PRIORITIES”

R STEPHENS COSMETICS AND SKINCARE LINE COMING SOON

DR. TONYA MERRIWEATHER GIPSON EDITOR IN CHIEF I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU THE READER FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT BLACK WOMEN IN BUSINESS. ALSO, A SPECIAL THANKS TO HER EXCELLENCY REV. DR. PRINCESS A.K. OCANSEY. FOR THE DMV “THE ROYAL VISIT” AND PARTNERING WITH US TO SHARE THE MESSAGE OF “GHANA 2019 THE YEAR OF RETURN”. 2

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Princess A.K. Ocansey By –T. Merriweather

H.E Rev. Dr. Princess A. K. Ocansey was hosted at a reception by Today’s Black Executive Magazine, Editor in Chief Dr. Tonya Gipson in collaboration with the Miss Africa Foundation, founded by Ms. Ellen Dunbar. The Princess addressed The Ministers’ Wives and Widows of Washington, DC and Vicinity Inc., - led by Dr. Marie Bowe Quick - on the topic: “Ghana, The Princess and You: A Royal Return. The Princess discussed the Year of Return and her humanitarian works in Ghana which supports and empowers rural women and girls. The Princess also launched her new line of natural personal and hair care products by the nonprofit NekoTech Center of Excellence initiative, SOSjobs4women Ghana, which she founded to support her co-op of rural women in Ghana to give them a hand -up vs a hand -out. The Princess believes in empowering her rural women to be engaged in the dignity of decent jobs to also contribute financially in their families.

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Princess A.K. Ocansey (continued) By â&#x20AC;&#x201C; T. Merriweather

In her efforts not to leave the rural girls behind, she is passionate about raising awareness and obtaining partnerships for sanitary napkins supplies for girls in rural communities in partnership with first ladies of 16 African countries, an initiative founded by the Miss Africa Foundation whom she supports. The Princess desires to use these products to bring women together by mobilizing women in the diaspora to become community distributors, and partners of the products to foster community closeness while looking to women owned businesses in the USA to pitch the bigger stores.

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Princess A.K. Ocansey By – T. Merriweather

Princess Ocansey has done this before, when she co-hosted “Destination Africa” on QVC TV introducing the first TV Shopping Kwanzaa show which created many jobs for her rural women lifting many out of poverty. Do not let the tiara fool you! The Princess is a USA graduate of Rutgers University College of Engineering in New Jersey and a Theologian from CICA Seminary and University in Canada. Upon graduation, she worked with fortune 500 companies like Pepsico, Avon and Johnson and Johnson before returning to her village in Ghana to dedicate her life to serving the voiceless and faceless poor working with US celebrities such as the late Isaac Hayes (Voice of Chef on South Park), Denzel Washington and Nancy Cartwright (Voice of Bart Simpson).

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Princess A.K. Ocansey (continued) By –T. Merriweather

This event was the end of a 10-day trip in the DMV area for Princess Ocansey. The Princess royal tour began with her being the keynote speaker at “A Taste of Royal Africa” hosted by the Master’s Table International Ministries of Columbia, MD to celebrate the 400 years and they traveled to Point Comfort in Virginia where she spoke and they commemorated the arrival point (the door of entry) where the first slaves arrived in this country . Princess Ocansey was also the keynote speaker at George Washington University together with H.E Dr. Adjei-Barwuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA. 8

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Princess A.K. Ocansey (continued) By â&#x20AC;&#x201C;T. Merriweather

www.royalreturnghana.com

Women Prioritize Immediate Needs Over Long-term Goals By –Edward Jones

PHOTO CREDIT/GOOGLE PHOTO

According to a new survey from Edward Jones, “Female Financial Empowerment," while women have made significant strides in gender and income equality in the workplace, one of the biggest obstacles they continue to face is the tendency to “prioritize immediate family needs” over saving for their own future. That certainly helps explain what the financial services firm acknowledges is an inherent conflict in the findings: Although seven out of 10 women polled say they feel “confident” in their financial knowledge, all too many have actually done little to generate their own long-term wealth. 11

Women Prioritize Immediate Needs Over Long-term Goals (continued) By –Edward Jones “Only 25 percent of women surveyed consider saving for retirement as their most important goal over the next three to five years,” says Nela Richardson, an investment strategist at Edward Jones. “That tells us that female financial empowerment should be next on the list of barriers women have broken over the past few decades.”

The two other biggest challenges women need to surmount, according to the national sample of 1,004 adult women ages 18 and older, is waiting for the “perfect” time to invest (something men do as well), or something else to motivate them. Some examples: A big raise or other windfall (49 percent). A financial emergency (20 percent). A significant life event (20 percent). A market correction (12 percent).

Women Prioritize Immediate Needs Over Long-term Goals (continued) By –Edward Jones “Waiting for a raise or a significant life event, by definition, isn’t a financial strategy,” Richardson says, “and they’ll always have competing priorities. The key is to anticipate both tailwinds and headwinds in life and be flexible enough to adapt to changing situations so you can meet your long-term financial goals.” Edward Jones lays out a female-centric approach to handling your finances on its website. But here’s a quick cheat sheet to get you started: • Make yourself a priority by starting to invest now in order to give your money time to grow – never underestimating the power of a wondrous thing called compound interest. • Begin small with modest investments.

• Develop a goals-based financial strategy. As for how much better women are doing financially, here’s one notable sign: Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 richest people featured just four females in 2000 compared to 10 this year. The richest woman – and fifteenth overall – is the L’Oréal heiress, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($49.3 billion), who is chairwoman of the family’s holding company. But she inherited her wealth, you say? Well, the youngest billionaire ever, according to Forbes, is 21-year-old cosmetics wunderkind Kylie Jenner ($1 billion).

Women and Cancer: Safeguard Your Future Fertility By –savemyfertility.org

Fertility may be the farthest thing from your mind when you’ve just received a cancer diagnosis, but it’s the right time to think about your future family. Cancer treatments can affect your ability to get pregnant or carry a baby to term. Ask your doctor about preserving your fertility before your treatment begins. Understanding how treatment may affect your fertility is the first step in assessing your options for fertility preservation. Chemotherapy can damage eggs, the sacs holding the eggs and the production of sex hormones. Radiation therapy has similar effects, sometimes causing irregular periods or halting them altogether. Both treatments can cause infertility immediately or years down the road by inducing early menopause. Premature menopause occurs when a woman’s menstrual cycles end before she turns 40. Surgical treatments removing both ovaries will cause menopause right away. Cancer treatment can also affect a woman’s pregnancy. For example, high-dose radiation to the pelvic area can increase the danger of 15 miscarriages and premature births.

Women and Cancer: Safeguard Your Future Fertility (continued) -By â&#x20AC;&#x201C;savemyfertility.org Regardless of the treatment they receive, women diagnosed with cancer have options to protect their fertility. Standard fertility preservation methods include embryo banking, shielding the pelvic region during radiation, and ovarian transposition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; when surgeons secure the ovaries in a position away from the radiation field. The standard treatment for uterine or ovarian cancer is the removal of both ovaries and the uterus, but some women with early-stage cancer that has a low risk of spreading may be able to keep their ovaries. Women with early-stage cervical cancer may choose to have only their cervix removed and keep their uterus and ovaries. In the future, more options will be available. Researchers are exploring experimental fertility preservation methods such as egg banking and ovarian tissue banking. Women who undergo cancer treatment can often have a child in the future, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to know the risks ahead of time. Consult your doctor or oncologist about your chances of success. Or ask your doctor to recommend a reproductive endocrinologist, a fertility specialist.

For information: rstephenscosmeticsandskincare@gmail.com

Survey Shows Unique Needs of HIV-Positive Women Often Not Addressed By www.thewellproject.org

There are now an estimated 300,000 women in the United States living with HIV/AIDS. New findings from the “Women Living Positive” survey show that a communication gap exists between women living with HIV and their health care providers when it comes to having important discussions about HIV and its treatment that meet their individual needs. More than half of women surveyed (55 percent) say they have never discussed with their health care provider how HIV medications might affect women differently than men. “With the rise of HIV infections in women, it is important that women living with HIV and their health care providers maintain open lines of communication and discuss important topics including their emotional well-being, family planning considerations and care that best meets their health and lifestyle,” said Kathleen Squires, M.D., director of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College. In addition, each year more than 6,000 HIV-positive women in the United States give birth. The survey shows that many HIV-positive women and their health care providers aren’t discussing how HIV treatment options might affect a pregnancy until after they conceive. More than half of respondents (52 percent) identify themselves as caregivers. Forty-three percent of women feel that living with HIV has made taking care of 22 their families “much more,” or “somewhat more,” difficult.

Survey Shows Unique Needs of HIV-Positive Women Often Not Addressed (continued) – By www.thewellproject.org “We hope the “Women Living Positive” survey findings will encourage more discussion between women and their health care providers about HIV medications that best meet their individual needs,” said Dawn Averitt Bridge, founder and chair of the Board of The Well Project, a non-profit organization for women affected by HIV, and an HIV-positive mother. The survey was supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in collaboration with The Well Project. GfK Roper Public Affairs conducted the survey with 700 U.S. women, aged 21 and over, diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and on HIV treatment for three or more years. The women interviewed were part of three different ethnic or racial groups -; African-American, Caucasian and Hispanic. For more information about the “Women Living Positive” survey, visit www.thewellproject.org.